Marque, Sydney

In 1999 we opened a small suburban restaurant on a busy strip of Crown Street, Surry Hills. The space was cheap, the people colourful & the traffic noisy. With an equal dose of passion & naivety, Marque defied the odds (& business stats) to go from a cheeky neighbourhood place to a restaurant with a unique voice in the world of dining. Marque’s proudest legacy will be the legion of young talent that has been part of our evolution & story, who have gone on to find their own voice & success.

Thanks to instagram, head chef Mark Best indicated that a table for 2 had cancelled last minute which I quickly snapped up. Whilst I knew it would be a late night with an 8pm sitting, Leslie and I had not yet ticked Marque off our list of ‘must-try’ restaurants in Sydney, and what better time to do it than when he was showcasing dishes from the restaurant’s history!

Perfectly spiced, and with the delicate claw meat also extracted, this was probably my favourite dish of the night. The lemon curd was very strong, and I preferred to enjoy the sweet Marron without the curd.

Calamari Risotto

This was a great textural dish, with the prawn ‘sheet’ covering ‘risotto’ of finely sliced calamari. The curry leaves also took the dish to another level.